The Cost of a Soul
by flaming-crystal-star
Summary: Kagome has been kidnapped and Inuyasha has two choices:1Watch Kagome die slowly and painfully, watching her soul getting sucked out of her or 2Give over the last remaining shards, giving Naraku all of them. What will he do! InuKag
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's note: This is my first ever fan fiction. I hope you like it! PLEASE REVIEW!**_

**Ch 1**

**Kagome was furious! Caught between screaming in anger and frustration or bursting into tears, she ran alone through the forest, her raven black hair streaming out behind her. Her mind was in a whirl after what she had just witnessed and a series of thoughts raced through her head. All of them centered on one demon; well half-demon anyway.**

"**_Inu-yasha , you jerk! _**_How dare you! After all we've been through, how could you do this to me again! I've traveled with you, I've hunted Shikon shards with you, I've fought demons with you, and you turn around and stab me in the back! Meeting with that stupid Kikyo __**again, **acting all lovey-dovey **again, **and when I witness it **again, **not **only **do you say nothing to me but when I try to approach the subject you first try to change it and then avoid answering me all together. As if I wouldn't be able to tell you had seen Kikyo even if I hadn't witnessed it! You can never look me in the eye after you've seen her! I **know **you've chosen Kikyo but this is the last straw! Why do you do this to me! Well I've had it! I'm going **home **and even if you come after me you won't change my mind.** INU-YASHA, YOU JERK!**_

**Kagome collapses on the bank of a stream to rest, staring angrily into the water and fighting back tears. She wished she had the guts to tell Inu-yasha exactly what she felt, but nooooo all she could do was scream at him in her head. She hadn't even told him she was leaving. She had just snuck out when he had left their camp for a while to scout the area for dangers. She'd taken the coward's way out and she knew it. She even knew it wouldn't last. She couldn't stay away from Inu-yasha for long. She would miss him too much. She just couldn't stand the thought of where that conversation about Kikyo might have led. Inu-yasha would have demanded to know why she cared so much about it and, being the stubborn pig-head that he is, would have forced her to answer. Kagome would have been forced to either lie to him again, avoid the question again (both of which she hated doing) or tell him the truth (which she definitely could not do. Oh, WHY did she have to love him so much when it was so obvious he loved Kikyo! She'd seen the proof of it with her own eyes. Admitting her feelings to Inu-yasha at this point would only embarrass and hurt both of them, her most of all.**

**Frustrated, hurt, and confused Kagome lay on her stomach by the stream and put her head on her arms. She doesn't notice the shadow of something coming closer and closer to her by the second, and by the time she feels the touch on her arm and turns around, all she has time for is a long, loud scream, before everything goes black! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: Here's the second chapter! To those who only read the manga, Inu-yasha may be a little out of character. To those who watch the anime, Kagome may be. I relly hope not though! Please review! To all those who have reviewed- Thanks!**

**Chapter 2:**

**Inu-yasha's dog-like ears pricked up as he listened intently, trying to pick up any sound from the otherwise quiet forest. For a moment, if only briefly, he had thought he heard a human scream. He shook his head to clear it. It was impossible for him to have heard a human scream. There wasn't a village for miles and there didn't even seem to be any demons in this forest. He had searched the forest for miles around where he and his friends had set up camp. No humans... no demons.. nothing. The forest was completely deserted. He and his friends were the only ones in this forest. There was no way for him to have heard a scream because there was no one here to attack them. Suddenly, Inu-yasha remembered the words of an old woman from the previous village who had warned them not to come here, and his heart started beating fiercely. The conversation had begun innocently enough:**

**_"Which way do you plan to travel once you leave the village?" she had said. _**

_**Inu-yasha had answered her with one of his usual snide comments. "East. What do you care you old hag?"**_

_**Her wrinkled face had gone pale and she gave them a warning: "Beware of the forest in that direction. No one who has gone in, has ever come out again. They say a fearsome demon moved into that forest about a month ago and killed every living thing in there, even the other demons. The entire forest is deserted and completely devoid of life. If you wish to keep your lives, you must NOT go near that forest!"**_

_**Inu-yasha had only laughed at her in scorn. "Oh please. Who do you think I am? I'm not afraid of any demon. Let him even try to attack me or my friends. I'd tear him to pieces. No one can beat ME!" **_

**When they had arrived in the****forest and had found nothing there, not even a sign of a demon, they had dismissed her story as a mere legend. Now... Inu-yasha wasn't so sure. What if that demon had attacked his friends while he was exploring? He rushed back tto their camp as quickly as he could.**

**"Kagome! Miroku! Sango! Are you guys alright!"**

**"Yawn!" Sango roused herself from where she had been sleeping under a tree. "What is it Inu-yasha? I was finally getting some sleep."**

**"Yes. You are very attractive while you sleep Sango...Ouch!" Miroku, being his usual perverted self, had finished his compliment by feeling her butt and had received a fierce slap to his face. He now sported a bright red hand print on his face. **

**Shippo, the young fox demon, emerged from behind a tree. "Sheesh Miroku, you asked for that one. For once, could you guys try to get along?" Turning to Inu-yasha, he rolled his eyes. "We're all fine Inu-yasha. I was the only one that heard you. Sango was sleeping, and Miroku was too busy watching her to hear anything."**

**"Ouch!" Miroku received another slap.**

**"Any way Inu-yasha," Shippo said, "why are you so worried about us?"**

**"Well, i heard a scream and I thought..." Suddenly, Inu-yasha stopped mid-sentence. He looked frantically around the camp. "Where's Kagome!"**

**"Isn't she hear?" asked Sango, beginning to get worried.**

**"She has to be! I saw her before!" said Miroku, getting up and looking worriedly around the camp.**

**"That scream..." said Inu-yasha. "What if...Kagome...? We have to find her! She could be in trouble! The scream came from that direction." he said, pointing to where he had heard it.**

**"Come on!" said Sango, getting her weapon and jumping on Kirara, "Let's go!"**

**Miroku picked up his staff and put Shippo on his back. "Yes. Inu-yasha let's look for her. We'll help you find her!"**

**Inu-yasha and his friends ran off to search the forest for Kagome. Inu-yasha had only one frantic thought in his head. "Oh please let Kagome be alright until we find her! Whoever took her is going to PAY!" **


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Here's the third chapter! Sorry it took a while, I've been busy. I hope you like it! PLEASE REVIEW! To my first reviewers: Inuismyhomeboi and IEatChicken I would like to tell you: THANKS! Your reviews and advice were appreciated.

Disclaimer: I realized that I left this out in my last two chapters, so- I will tell you now that, although I wish I did, I don't own Inu-yasha or any of the other characters. Only the new demon is mine. Although I did alter another demon's powers a little bit to give him his own. Most of him is mine though.

Chapter 3:

Kagome woke up in an unfamiliar section of the forest. She felt numb and had no strength whatsoever left in her body. It felt as if all her energy had been sapped right out of her and, though she couldn't really explain why, it felt as if part of her was missing somehow. For a second, she wondered where she was, but then she remembered. She had run away after seeing Inu-yasha and Kikyo together and had been kidnapped by a fearsome demon who was a complete stranger to her. Kagome's breathing stopped briefly as she remembered the Shikon shards she usually carried. Then she breathed a sigh of relief as she realized that the demon couldn't have them. She had left them in their bags back at the camp before she ran away. The demon had kidnapped her when she had stopped to rest by a river. Kagome had been too upset to notice him approaching. Remembering the demon, she realized that she wasn't bound. She could get away! She tried to move despite the numbness but failed to even twitch. Then she tried to look around her to find her bow and arrows. Even if she couldn't move, she would feel better to have them near her. With a rising panic, she realized that they must have been left behind in the clearing when she was taken by the demon. What was she going to do now?!

Kagome heard footsteps behind her, and when the source of those footsteps entered her field of vision she nearly screamed. This demon was the stuff of worst nightmares. Almost no other demon she'd seen before in this land was as scary in looks and aura as this one, and that was saying something! The only one who topped him was Naraku! He had black scraggly hair up to his shoulders that flew around in a wind she couldn't feel. On his head were black scythe-like horns that reached the tip of bat-like wings that were crimson red shot through with ebony streaks that looked like veins. His skin was pale, almost ghost-like, but his almond-shaped eyes constantly changed color. They didn't seem to be the same color twice! He had pointy ears, a hooked nose, and a thin mouth with long curved blood-red fangs. His hands were pale, almost delicate, with razor sharp blood-stained claws shaped like curved knives. He wore no shoes, but Kagome could see that his padded feet allowed him to walk with stealth when he needed to. He had three toes on each foot, tipped with blood-stained black talons, and a curved spike on the back of each foot, almost like a dragon. He was a head taller than Inu-yasha and had a well-muscled body. He wore clothes similar to Inu-yasha but instead of red, they were black.

The demon advanced towards her with an evil smirk on his face. "Aww. Poor little Kagome." he said, in a voice that was soft and deep. " Does she miss her friends?" His voice was tinged with evil and he hissed his s's slightly, almost like a snake. He kneeled beside her, and her heart filled with fear. She didn't want him to touch her! She didn't want him anywhere **near** her! He reached out to her and roughly grabbed her arm. She tried to scream, but to her horror couldn't even manage a croak! Her throat was working...she could feel it! But...no sound was coming out...what was happening to her?!

The demon smirked, his expression triumphant. "What's the matter? Can't you speak?" Kagome glared furiously at him. He knew perfectly well the answer to that! After all, he was probably the reason she couldn't talk! He laughed loudly at her, and her heart chilled. There was no warmth in that laugh. If he chose to kill her, she knew he wouldn't even bat an eye. He could easily do anything he wanted to her, and he knew it! "Aww. No need to look like that! You're silence can **easily** be remedied!"

He ripped her shirt partly open, and she saw that there were red welts on the skin there, just over her heart. It looked as if he had put his claws together, three claws on top and two on the bottom, in order to touch one part of her skin and then slowly pushed his fingers apart to make five slash marks. They ringed a circular portion of her skin, just over her heart! She didn't feel that part of her either, and it was still bleeding! Kagome also couldn't remember when he had done that, for she had felt none of the pain that the wound should have caused. Even if she had still been unconscious, she should have felt **something**!

He put his talons at the end of each slash and slowly drew them, and the skin they held, together, closing her wound. As he did so, Kagome saw a blue light streaming from each of his claws and flowing into her wound as he closed it. At the same time his eyes turned white and nearly colorless, without even a pupil. She suddenly felt the feeling and strength flowing back into her body, and she screamed with the searing pain she now felt! It was as if razors were on every part of her body! She screamed and screamed until he had closed her wound completely, for the pain had stopped as suddenly as it had begun!

Kagome turned to face her captor. She wasn't fool enough to attempt an escape. He was too strong for her to defeat on her own, even if she had her weapons! She knew he was...and also knew that she was in his power. "Who are you?" she asked.

He laughed. "The name's Kageshiro, also called the White Shadow. I can see your strength and your voice are back!" "What," he said in a voice dripping in sarcasm, " no escape attempt? Huh, you're not as stupid as I thought."

"I didn't think that I'd live long after such an attempt, even if you had let me go. Well, what do you want from me? Huh, let me guess! You're another shade of Naraku, and you're after the Shikon shards right? Well too bad! As you have probably found out by now, I don't have them with me!"

"You're pretty smart...for a human. However, you seem to be overlooking one minor detail."

"What?" she asked, and she was suddenly afraid again.

"Well," he said, and his hand went back to her chest over the newly closed wound. He opened it up again and she saw the blue light again, this time streaming out of her wound and into his claws, and witnessed his eyes turning the same shade of blue. The strength and feeling flowed out of her, and she fell limply against him. With a smirk, he closed her shirt. "As you can see, you are completely within my power. You're friends are bound to be looking for you, and that loud scream you just emitted is enough to bring them right to me. Within just a few minutes your friends shall join us, where I'll be waiting. With you as my hostage they won't be able to get **near **me! They wouldn't **dare** to make an attack on me for fear of hurting you, and I shall quickly dispose of them and take the Shikon shards for myself."

Full of fear and despair Kagome realized he was right. As she slowly drifted out of consciousness her last coherent thought was, "Inu-yasha... guys...I'm... so...sorry!"


End file.
